Order sizes are much smaller now, but manufacturers are happy to be getting orders again.
LOGISTICS
Transpac ocean rates were level last week while Asia – Europe prices fell 15% on falling demand, per Freightos.
Asia-Europe rates are under pressure again due to low demand post-Lunar New Year, per Flexport.
Asia-US capacity has remained higher than in years past. Carriers are expected to continue to blank sailings in an attempt to stabilize rates.
Some major carriers are even expressing concern that the combination of excess capacity and falling demand could lead to a price war.
Maersk said it expects 2023 contract rates to be close to spot rates, a substantial drop from contracts negotiated in 2022, the carrier said during an analysts call.
MATERIALS SOURCING
Knitwear Leads the Way to Better Days
The industry has been waiting for some good news – and they got it at SPINEXPO Hong Kong. After a very difficult 2022, most spinners felt that things were finally turning the corner in 2023. This wasn’t just ‘beginning of the year optimism’ – the way everyone feels when they have an entire year ahead to meet sales targets.
Leading spinners said that orders were starting to pick up.
“I just spoke with the head of knitwear at Asda’s George brand and he told me that knitwear sales were up 150% percent,” said Mark Snape at Xinfang. Read More
PODCAST
Building a Customized Business that’s Fully Automated
Automation and fashion are two words that are increasingly coming up in the same sentence.
Figuring out how to pull all of these components together in one smooth running system has eluded most manufacturers.
Sockrates has managed to crack the code.
With over 4,000 clients worldwide, Sockrates must be doing something right.
In this podcast Samuel Moses, founder and CEO of Sockrates Custom Socks, talks about a business that produces high quality custom socks with blazingly fast turnaround times.
You’ll Learn:
- How to find a niche customer base
- How he continually improves efficiency in his organization.
- Using data and market research to identify and deliver the right products for your market.
MATERIALS
Cotton prices remained flat as world demand remained subdued and the expected rebound by the world’s largest producer, consumer, and exporter of textile, China, hadn’t materialized yet.
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